Greed, Part Two

You can start to see the cracks. They are running in the streets, the sidewalks, and maybe across your lawn. The cracks are deep, and getting wider, a bit more so each day. “OK Mr. President....you can bail out the banks...You can bail out the automakers. But damn it, if you bail out the guy across the street....well that is just too close to home”. By all means, give my tax money to weapon systems to bomb third world nations, or to the fat cats on Wall Street. Help out a neighbor, a friend...and I say “no”.

This is the great problem with America. We admire, even adore the successful, the powerful. We worship at their feet, and hope that by rubbing up against them, we can feel important. We want to keep their limousines washed and their nice suits well pressed. But we despise the guy that is down on his luck. We loathe his lack of success, and blame him for not achieving greatness.

Some talking head on TV last week...a guy I have never heard of, but obviously someone who is important enough to be allowed to rant on CNBC, left a mark on our nation’s generosity, as he called out the president for daring to offer assistance to those who might lose their homes, or those folks whose homes had lost so much value they were now worth less than they owed. How dare a nation so great stoop to help those poor fools who only wanted a piece of the pie. No, let’s ignore healthcare, let’s ignore the environment, let’s ignore the energy crisis. Instead, let’s make sure the banks are insulated from their mistakes. Let’s prop up our unprofitable companies. Let’s fund another weapon system or foreign war, but let’s draw the line where it gets personal. If the bank has put up the foreclosure sign in the neighborhood, the government ought to stay out of it. Better to let a family be displaced, and join the ranks of homelessness. Let some child have to leave their school and friends, or quit college...or miss a meal.

This country likes to portray itself as generous....as a nation that believes in God just as much as we do the might dollar. Really? Is there not something in the bible about helping those less fortunate? Is there nothing written in there about charity? About the welfare of our fellow man? About social justice and compassion? I admit I am no scholar in this area, and I am constantly surprised by our ability to thump the bible when it suits our needs, and to ignore it when it does not.

The nation is splitting....and it is not just along party lines. In fact, perhaps the whole Republican vs Democrat thing was a smokescreen for the real divisions. There are those that feel the government, the country, should exist to exert power around the globe, to exploit resources and leave the individual to suck at the teat of capitalism. Ayn Rand would be so proud. The market will take care of everything. And that it should....in a place where there is more to a bottom line than profits. Since profit has become the only criteria for success, though, the teat is running dry, or perhaps the milk tastes sour. But...there is the other camp....and they are growing restless. They are tired of America stomping its way around the planet, consuming more resources than any other nation, like a bloated pig. They admire socially conscious companies, who value their employees, and treat their fellow man with compassion, and lend a hand when it is needed. Instead of buying another bomber, perhaps we should set that money aside in case one of “us” needs a buck or two to make ends meet. Or perhaps we can use a few bucks to buy a sack of concrete so we can fill in some of these cracks.